In brief
The Australian telecom company Optus faced severe backlash after it mistakenly sent emails regarding a significant outage to incorrect addresses, leaving emergency services in the dark for over 36 hours. The incident is linked to four deaths, including that of an infant, and raised questions about the company’s crisis response protocol. With ongoing investigations, the communication failure unveils a critical lapse in operations and has prompted calls for accountability from regulatory bodies and the government.
One of Australia's biggest telecommunication companies sent emails about a deadly outage to the wrong email address at the Department of Communications where they remained unread for over a day, parliament has heard.
Optus' emails also underplayed the severity of the 18 September outage, which has been linked to four deaths, including that of an eight-week old baby, as people could not reach emergency services.
The first email was sent at 14:45 that day, with a follow-up seven minutes later claiming the issue was fixed and only 10 calls were affected. In reality, over 600 calls to emergency services failed during the 13-hour outage.
Authorities learned about the outage the next afternoon, over 36 hours after it began, from the industry regulator. Australia's Deputy Secretary for Communications James Chisholm revealed in parliament that the emails were sent to a previously used address that was no longer valid.
Despite being warned about the email change weeks in advance, Optus did not follow protocols, prompting scrutiny from the government. The outage's root cause was a deviation in standard procedures during a routine firewall upgrade, according to Optus.
Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has expressed condolences over the incident, acknowledging the tragic circumstances that led to the deaths. Amid ongoing investigations, Optus faces intense scrutiny for its handling of the situation and compliance with telecommunications laws.
With past incidents still fresh, including a cyberattack in 2022, pressure mounts on current CEO Stephen Rue, with calls for him to resign and suggestions to revoke Optus' operating license.
